


It's not the Wizard's Time

by Falkuey_Artster



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Blood and Injury, Broken Bones, F/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Caduceus Clay/Fjord, Nott | Veth Brenatto & Caleb Widogast Friendship, Resurrection, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26500570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Falkuey_Artster/pseuds/Falkuey_Artster
Summary: The Mighty Nein decide to take a rescue mission job in a tunnel. Something goes wrong and they have to revive Caleb.(Based off of a dream I had)
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett/Yasha, Jester Lavorre & Caleb Widogast, Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	It's not the Wizard's Time

**Author's Note:**

> Also, because I don't know how to do original tags, Pike and Allura appear for a bit! Mention of Keyleth and her mom too.  
> Sorry if Pike is characterized wrong, by the way. I have never properly seen Campaign 1. Also, Allura is hard to characterize too.

"How do we always end up in dark and creepy caves?" Beau half groaned as the Mighty Nein carefully traversed a dark underground tunnel.

"At least the plants seem nice" Caduceus smiled at the long, thick vines that lined the walls and roof.

"Didn't they seem annoyed at you talking to them? What happened to that?" Fjord inquired as he summoned Dwueth'var defensively.

"Those were the ones at the entrance, these ones are different" Caduceus lightly brushed his hand against one of the vines, causing it to twitch slightly. Caduceus paused and withdrew his hand, but he shrugged and continued onward.

"Caleb, do you want to move to the back?" Jester spun and turned towards Caleb, who was standing just behind her.

"Ja, I don't think I will be brave today"

"I'll go with you!" Veth piped up as she was already pushing past Caduceus to get to the back. Caleb slowly, carefully made his way past both Caduceus and Veth in order to be at the end. He was already suspicious of the vines, and this was only amplified by the plants' reaction to Caduceus. He eyed the plants carefully as Fjord and Beau began discussing the best escape plan.

"Hey Caayleb, do you remember how many people were in the miner group?" Jester chirped, still skipping despite the atmosphere.

"Ja, of course, there were eight"

"Actually, speaking of, what time is it Caleb? It feels like we've been down here for DAYS" Beau groaned.

"Actually, we've only been down here for an hour. It's precisely 12:42 if you care" Caleb adjusted his coat awkwardly as the tunnel narrowed.

Only about three hours pass before Caleb spots movement in the corner of his eye. He freezes, stopping dead in his tracks as he quickly scanned the area.  
_What was that? Was it a vine? Am I imagining it_?  
Before he could even comprehend the situation, there was something cold wrapped around his chest and mouth and he was yanked upward.

Veth turned around instinctively as she heard a faint noise. She calmed as there was nothing there.  
_Wait_  
Caleb wasn't there. CALEB WASN'T THERE!  
Veth screeched and ran backwards, frantically looking for her boy. There was an instant change in atmosphere as the rest of the Nein realized what was happening. Beau immediately looked to see where his footprints went, Caduceus started asking the vines while looking around, Jester joined Veth in panicking, and Fjord kept his eyes ahead on watch.  
It wasn't long before Beau called everyone over.

"His footprints stop here, and it looks like he was dragged for a short second before something happened. He may have been taken upward" Beau carefully looked up and froze, horror written all over her face. Everyone else looked up to see the unconscious, mangled body of Caleb Widogast being squashed by various vines in the vicinity. His coat and shirt were soaked in blood, and it was starting to drip onto the ground. His mouth was also wrapped in a vine, preventing him from calling out. The horror spread. They all saw red as the attacks towards the vines began.  
The battle only lasted about 12 seconds, not long, but it still felt like hours. Caleb's body was thrown limply to the ground by the vines, making a loud SMACK that shook the party. The sound echoed through their souls as Jester slowly, carefully approached him.

"Is..is he okay?" Nott whispered weakly. Jester picked Caleb up, bridal style, and felt for his heartbeat.  
_No. No, no way. This isn't.. NO_  
Jester began to panic as she, in a blur, pulled out the diamond and casted revivify.  
_Come on..please..Traveller please.._  
She froze. The diamond never shattered. It never went into his chest. All she could feel were the protruding bones and the warm blood now soaking her hands.

"It...it's not working... We're too late, it's not working! IT'S NOT WORKING WHY ISN'T IT WORKING?!" Jester began to scream as tears filled her eyes. Nott was sitting next to her, silent other than the choked tears running down her face.  
Silence. It was silent. For how long, none of them knew. They couldn't know. Caleb was gone. He was gone and they couldn't do anything about it.

"Caduceus.." Fjord said quietly, his voice raspy from tears, "Did..you learn that resurrection spell?"  
Everyone immediately turned to Caduceus, all of them flinching at their expressions. Hope. Tear filled hope and mourning.

"I..yeah, I have it prepared.. We still just came from Rumblecusp, though, and I don't have the diamond to do it.." Caduceus murmured, looking shaken.

"We'll get the diamond! We'll leave early and get the diamond!" Jester shouted frantically.

"The miners can wait! We need to get Caleb back!" Veth added, equally as frantic.  
They couldn't just teleport out. It took a while for it to set in, but they had to carry Caleb's body for HOURS to get back to Nicodranas. It felt wrong when Cad casted gentle repose on CALEB. It felt wrong to have to rotate who was carrying Caleb. It felt wrong when no one answered whenever someone asked 'how much longer?'. Everything felt wrong. There were no globules of light, no familiar cat scouting ahead, nothing. It was unbearable.  
They walked into Nicodranas with a limp, bloody wizard in their arms. It was Jester's turn to carry him, and the looks from the townspeople were not helping. They all had tear stains on their cheeks, puffy eyes from crying, and many had blood stains on their clothing from carrying the wizard. They looked like a mess.  
They were a mess.  
Going to a store to buy a diamond had never been so terrifying.  
_What if it didn't work? What if he didn't want to come back? What if we don't convince him enough?_

The jeweler didn't have what they needed. Of course they didn't have what they needed. Of COURSE the gods had decided that they would mourn for just a little longer. Push them just a little bit further towards the edge.

They went to Yussa. They pleaded for someone. They pleaded for ANYONE to help them. Give them the diamond they needed. Revive him for them. It didn't matter anymore.

Nothing mattered anymore.

They sat, waiting for the person to arrive. No one recognized their name, but no one cared. Jester and Veth sat on either end of Caleb's body, both refusing to speak. Both stewing in their thoughts. Caduceus tried to comfort everyone, but could barely hold himself together at this point. Fjord and Caduceus sat next to each other, praying to the Wildmother. Beau sat with Yasha as she prayed to the Storm Lord. When they heard the familiar sound of a teleportation circle, they all shot upward. Veth and Jester stayed kneeling, though.

Allura and an astral, armored gnome woman walked into the room.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, Pike. These people..they gave Keyleth her mom back and..one of them has.." Allura gestured to Caleb's unmoving body.

"It's alright. We all owe them because of that" the gnome, apparently Pike, gently approached Jester, Veth, and Caleb's body.

"I'm very sorry for what happened, but I can revive your friend. You all know about the ritual process, right?" She said softly, kindly. She was empathetic towards them, despite them being strangers.

Everyone nodded. Everyone knew. Everyone wanted their wizard back.

Pike gently placed her hand onto Caleb's mangled chest. His ribs were all broken and protruding out, his clothes were encased with dry blood, and his sides were crushed inward. It was a horrific sight. Despite this, Pike didn't flinch. She simply cast a glowing spell from her hand that blinded them all for a moment. When they looked back, his body was no longer mangled. His ribs were back in place, his body was no longer crushed, and his body was re-adjusted.

"He won't wake up in pain now" Pike smiled warmly at them all. She was definitely trying to comfort them.

"How about we decide who will go first before I cast the spell?" Pike looked around at them all. Veth immediately scooted forward, closer to Caleb, "I'll go first. I..I've known him the longest..".

"Alright" Pike nodded and casted the spell. It was bright light, similar to the first spell. This time, though, she had held the diamond to Caleb's chest and it shattered. It absorbed into his blood covered skin, and Veth immediately started talking.

"Caleb, I know that you may not want to come back. I know you, and I know what you think of yourself. You deserve life, Caleb. You deserve us, no matter how many times you say otherwise. We love you so much. I love you so much. You're like a son to me, Caleb. You helped me get back to my family, to my body. I can't thank you enough, but you're not done. You have so much more you can do, so much more to learn! You have your own goals! Besides, I think everyone would agree that we need you, Caleb. We need you more than you know" Veth was now sobbing as she moved aside, motioning for someone to go next. Beau sighed and stepped forward.

"Look man, we can't have empire kids if it's just me. We both have to protect these idiots. WE, not just me. Veth was right, we all need you. You do so much for us. I mean, seriously, we use your teleportation circle everyday!" Everyone glared at Beau for a second, "Okay, okay! It's not just that. You've saved our asses on MANY occasions and you support us all emotionally as well. We're not going to let you die, man. Not now, not ever" Beau stepped aside, trying to wipe her eyes before anyone noticed how much she was crying. It failed.

It was silent for a moment, before everyone turned to Jester.

"What?" Jester wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Jessie, I think it's pretty obvious that he cares for you a LOT. Traveller con just showed everyone that, I think. Even me," Fjord sighed, "I think you'd be the best person to try and bring him back"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I mean, I think we all knew about his soft spot for you, Jester, for a while. At this point, though, even Fjord has noticed" Beau teased as she elbowed her.

"But, seriously Jester. You are the best option. He cares for you just as much as Veth, if not more." Beau added as she stepped away.


End file.
